Headlines rose as ESPN’s College Gameday was expected to be at JMU vs. WSU. Gameday has not been at JMU since 2023 and WSU since 2018. Following a now-deleted tweet from JMU-News, announcing that Gameday was coming, ticket prices rose hundreds of dollars. It is important to note ESPN never officially stated it was going to JMU; instead, it announced it will be attending the Oregon-USC matchup in Eugene, Oregon, this week. 

The idea that College Gameday, which, since Pat Macafee has joined, mainly attends SEC games with a sprinkle of Big 10 games, would come to a WSU game is hysterical. The Cougar brand is not attractive. While fans may travel to away games, they do not come to home games. Your average CFB viewer is not a fan of watching a Group of 5 school play a Sun Belt conference school. 

Fareed Lawal, a second-year student at WSU, agrees with Gameday’s choice. 

“It’s all about ratings and big-name programs. WSU vs. JMU would’ve been a cool story, [but] USC and Oregon are bigger brands, bigger conferences and bring more national attention,” Lawal said. “ESPN probably felt safer choosing that matchup. JMU wasn’t even confirmed, so it might’ve just been a rumor that got people hyped too early.”

In an alternate universe where WSU beat Ole Miss and Virginia, two top-25 teams, Gameday might have gone with WSU at JMU. However, they did not, and even though the games were close, they did not count. In ESPN’s current climate, views and clips are what they are after, and that does not equal WSU, which cannot even sell out its stadium. 

WSU second-year student Jordan Jamison believes the Cougs were never a real option for Gameday to cover.  

“We suck…I mean, look at us, we lost to a two-win team two weeks ago, and then are excited about beating a tech team that is not in Texas,” Jamison said. “I feel bad for JMU. They should be hosting Gameday and it sucks we are the reason they are not. If it were JMU versus a good school, they probably would have gone.” 

Selection fatigue from fans about Gameday and their biases towards big schools like Alabama, Oregon and Georgia made some excited for a switch-up. Unfortunately, for a school like WSU, where sports are up and down, it is hard to justify the show coming. If WSU did not get blown out in the Apple Cup and against the University of North Texas, and if WSU sold out Gesa Field a few times, Gameday might have gone to JMU. 

WSU is not the program it was under Hall-of-Fame coach Mike Leach. It is not even the same as it was with Jake Dickert when Cam Ward and John Mateer went to WSU. In another two years, if WSU wins the new Pac-12, there is a chance Gameday comes back to the Palouse.